How In The Half-Blood?
by maggalina
Summary: Metamorphagi are quite rare. How is it fair that a half-blood gets to be one when numerous purelines haven't seen one in centuries. What does the backlash against the Tonks' mean? Why can't people just let Andromeda love her daughter without question?


"Ted, what are we going to do? There are people out there threatening to steal Dora. They want to kidnap her and raise her as a pureblood or in some special institution so they can study her. They can't have my baby!" Andromeda Tonks was almost in tears as she leaned into her husband.

It had been a month since either of them had left the house. Ever since the Healers at St. Mungo's had told them their little girl was a metmorphmagus they had been hounded by department of mystery workers, pureblood rights activists, and reporters for the Daily Prophet. Everyone had a reason their little girl couldn't belong to them.

"I don't know Andromeda, I just don't know," said Ted as he held her against his chest, their newborn nestled in her bassinet.

They were only 20 years old. This was their first child. This was supposed to be exciting! From the second she was born her hair started changing colour and they knew their daughter was special. That was when the trouble began.

Their healer was fantastic but word spreads quickly around the hospital and a nurse from another floor came and said that because of the rarity of Nymphadora's abilities she needed additional testing to make sure she was okay. If it wasn't for an anti-apparation charm their head healer had put around the room they might have never seen their little Dora again.

It only got worse from there.

After the attempted kidnapping came the reporters. They hounded them at the hospital and wouldn't stop taking pictures no matter what happened. Rita Skeeter had the audacity to write that the Tonk's had stolen a purebloods baby because they couldn't have children of their own being a mixed couple. After all a metamorphagus was too special and rare to have been born to a muggle, even if his wife was from one of the most powerful pureblood families in Britain. Other reporters built upon it, Witch Weekly did a whole report on cheating and the best ways to hide it citing Andromeda as as source.

All this coverage caused outrage among the pureblood families. Some of the smaller ones like the Travers' tried to claim Nymphadora as their own saying Andromeda had taken their daughter as revenge on pureblood families because she had been kicked out of her own.

That of course fueled the reporters which fueled the purebloods and the vicious cycle went on. When they got settled at home the ministry workers started showing up.

People from the department of mysteries saying that it has been many years since a metamorphmagus had been born and they would like to study her. They wanted to know if metamorphmaguses were actually an assigned sex or if that could change at will. Is their child actually human? Can she transform into anything at will? What are the limits of her powers? Endless and endless questions that they said they needed answered and it was only with their child that they could be. Taking their child to be experimented on was what was best for the wizarding community.

They were young parents they shouldn't have to deal with this!

Then Dumbledore came. He told them he would do his best to make things easier for them and had been in discussions with the Minister. He then placed protective charms around the house and loaned them a house elf who could do anything they ordered her to do.

This left them free to finally just be parents. No one could get in the house. Lottie, the house elf, could buy all their groceries and could make things...uncomfortable for people who tried to harass the young couple. To put it simply, one reporter who tried to dig his way into their basement went to St. Mungo's covered in strange yellow and purple boils.

For the first time in forever Ted and Andromeda just sat down in their nursery and watched their daughter together.

"Hey Ted, look! She took your nose!" Andromeda said as her daughter morphed in her arms.

"She always seems to look like you, no matter what she changes. I think it is the smile, or maybe just that glow of beauty and brilliance you two share."

"She is perfect isn't she?"

Dumbledore slowly made the people outside go away. Being only three years into Voldemort's terror, enough people were dying to make new news headlines. Janus Thickey's death soon became the main topic of conversation, lethifolds having not been seen for quite a long time. Some questioned if You-Know-Who had sent it after him! Did You-Know-Who have the power to control lethifolds?

But all that went unnoticed by the Tonks family. Their little girl was growing up safe and strong. Barely a few months old and already she knew when and what she wanted. Ted doted on the little girl, giving her everything magic could do. She had a pocket sized pony for a while before Andromeda put her foot down because Dora wouldn't stop giving herself horse lips.

Eventually the pureblood activists went away too. The Traver's admitted they were lying and were actually infertile. With the proposition of a bill for the rights of house elves they had a lot more to worry about than an extremely magical child born to a muggle.

Again the Tonks didn't notice they were still there. Lottie took care of eveything, at least everything Andromeda let her.

Lottie once made breakfast for the couple because they had been up all night with a crying Dora who had seemed to have gotten her nose stuck as a duck bill, when Andromeda had woken up she had given a stern talking to the little elf saying that she was still Dumbledore's elf and she couldn't be here forever so Andromeda had to learn to be a mother.

"Yes, Mistress," squeaked Lottie, twirling her tea cozy between her fingers, ears hung down, "Lottie was not saying you is a bad Mama. No no never. Mistress is a wonderful Mama. Lottie is just wanting to let Mistress sleep and have a treat. Lottie is knowing babies are not easy and Lottie is not being allowed to help with the baby Lottie is wanting to help Mistress."

"I know Lottie," Andromeda said softly, regretting the strictness of her words," I am just scared that I won't be able to handle things when you leave. I know that no matter how much I love you, you are not my elf. I need to be able to handle myself in any siltation. I also don't want to accidentally treat you like my family, or whatever they are now, treat elves like you."

"Oh Mistress! You coulds never be hurting Lottie! Not when you is scared to hurt Lottie! And is a good Mama. Yous can handle anything! How many Mamas has to be fixing their babies duck bills!"

With that Andromeda cried the tears she had been holding in for months now. Tears that people were right and she wasn't qualified to do this. Tears that she was too much like her old family. Tears that she did everything wrong.

Lottie just held her and let her cry. Breakfast was ignored. Andromeda just cried and cried and cried.

Then Ted came out holding a freshly changed and smiling and giggling Dora. Their little happy girl. He placed her into Andromeda's arms and Andromeda felt her sadness wash away.

She wasn't like her parents. Dora would have a happy childhood.

And she was a good mother.

And so she held her little girl with the flashing rainbow hair and smiled.


End file.
